(c) The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe general rules governing practice, procedure and the conduct of all courts, justices of the peace and all officers serving process or enforcing orders, judgments or decrees of any court or justice of the peace, including the power to provide for assignment and reassignment of classes of actions or classes of appeals among the several courts as the needs of justice shall require, and for admission to the bar and to practice law, and the administration of all courts and supervision of all officers of the Judicial Branch, if such rules are consistent with this Constitution and neither abridge, enlarge nor modify the substantive rights of any litigant, nor affect the right of the General Assembly to determine the jurisdiction of any court or justice of the peace, nor suspend nor alter any statute of limitation or repose. All laws shall be suspended to the extent that they are inconsistent with rules prescribed under these provisions. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the General Assembly may by statute provide for the manner of testimony of child victims or child material witnesses in criminal proceedings, including the use of videotaped depositions or testimony by closed-circuit television.

Return to Diagram

This Article is in violation of the U.S. Constitution in two ways- it violates the mandate that only Congress can pass laws; and it usurps the checks and balance mechanism that is crucial for a democratic system, by allowing them to remove themselves from the Open Meeting laws.  The  current structure of the legal system is impotent, and entirely self-defeating of  the principles of an impartial court system.

To have a self-regulated branch of government, has created a venue for racketeering. This system became enabled as a direct result of defective legislation passed  in 1968- when the Pennsylvania Constitution was disastrously amended with Article V –most egregiously Section 10 (c) –misinterpreted by lawyers as  giving the legal profession self- regulatory powers. Amendment V was perverted over the years- as they insidiously began “making  rules” which in effect were “laws” that impede and distort the justice system. The U.S. Constitution mandates that only Congress can  pass laws, however, in many states this provision has been mutilated by bar associations-who formed “committees” to make “rules.”

Although the Pennsylvania Rules Committee claims “rules” are not the same as “laws” – they are nothing more than vehicles for lawyers and judges to commit what would be considered crimes in any other venue. One of the most egregious problems is the attorney fee system needs to be regulated. There is no motivation for an attorney to expeditiously end a legal matter with the absurd hourly fee structure;  they are further pressured by law firms who inflict profit quotas on their employees. 

While the Supreme Court claims  it must be “independent” to function- what they have really become is a rogue and oppressive branch of government- promoting collusion of judges and attorneys to furthering the profits of the bar association members.